The Ruff Report: Dogs, Safety and Behavior

Saturday

Mar 23, 2013 at 12:20 PMMar 23, 2013 at 11:10 PM

Your dog really is clever enough to outsmart youDogs apparently are clever enough to recognize when humans are watching them, so many of our pets outsmart us by patiently waiting until we are not looking before they participate in mischievous behavior, a study has found.

Dogs, who have much better nighttime vision than humans, wait to perform their most mischievous deeds - like stealing food - under the cover of darkness, according to Juliane Kaminski, a psychology professor at the University of Portsmouth in England, who conducted the study.

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A book about a rescue dogthat will touch your heart THE HUNT OF HER LIFE, a full-color book by newspaper journalist and MySetterSam.com publisher Joseph A. Reppucci, is must reading for animal lovers of all ages. It has 60 color photos of dogs to illustrate the compelling story of Samantha, an unwanted rescue dog adopted at age 2 by Mr. Reppucci. Travel with them along a trail of life filled with surprising twists, sudden turns, mystery and even what some call a miracle. And when the journey is finished, you may never look at people and their pets, motherhood - and perhaps even God - in the same way. THE HUNT OF HER LIFE will take you on a captivating journey - a trip like no other - that will touch your heart.For more details and to order, go to theMySetterSam E-store

Also find The Hunt of Her Life on:Facebook/thehuntofherlifeAmazon.comCLICK HERE TO LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK

Story continues here When a human forbids a dog from taking food, dogs are four times more likely to disobey in a dark room than a lit room, suggesting they take into account what the human can or cannot see, the research showed.ďThe results of these tests suggest that dogs are deciding itís safer to steal the food when the room is dark because they understand something of the humanís perspective,Ē Ms. Kaminski states in a media release.

The research, published in the journal Animal Cognition, is the first study to examine if dogs differentiate between different levels of light when they are developing strategies on whether to steal food.

Ms. Kaminski ran experiments in varied light conditions. In each test, a dog was forbidden by a human from taking the food. When the room was dark, the dogs took more food and took it more quickly than when the room was lit. The tests involved many variables to rule out that dogs were basing their decisions on simple associative rules, for example, that dark means food. There is no evidence on how well dogs can see in the dark, but the results of this research show dogs can differentiate between light and dark. In total, 42 female and 42 male domestic dogs age 1 or older took part in the tests.

The research is an incremental step in our understanding the ability of dogs to think and understand. This information may help those who work with dogs, including police, vision-impaired people, those who use gun dogs and those who have dogs as pets.

More reports about dogs, behavior and safety:Dogs always mouth off before they biteDogs feel no guilt about misbehavingA place for dogs where fighting often eruptsHey dummy, your dog's smarter than you thinkThe secret to getting your dog to behave This injury risk to dogs just keeps booming Tips to help your pet cope during fireworks season

Reports about dogs, food and safetyToxic levels of chemical found in dog foods Chocolate, candies mean danger for dogs Many earlier research papers have found that dogs have the ability to interpret a humanís eyes as an important signal when deciding how to behave. They respond more willingly to attentive humans rather than inattentive ones.

Your dog really is clever enough to outsmart youDogs apparently are clever enough to recognize when humans are watching them, so many of our pets outsmart us by patiently waiting until we are not looking before they participate in mischievous behavior, a study has found.

Dogs, who have much better nighttime vision than humans, wait to perform their most mischievous deeds - like stealing food - under the cover of darkness, according to Juliane Kaminski, a psychology professor at the University of Portsmouth in England, who conducted the study.

Story continues below----------------------------------------------------------------------

A book about a rescue dogthat will touch your heart THE HUNT OF HER LIFE, a full-color book by newspaper journalist and MySetterSam.com publisher Joseph A. Reppucci, is must reading for animal lovers of all ages. It has 60 color photos of dogs to illustrate the compelling story of Samantha, an unwanted rescue dog adopted at age 2 by Mr. Reppucci. Travel with them along a trail of life filled with surprising twists, sudden turns, mystery and even what some call a miracle. And when the journey is finished, you may never look at people and their pets, motherhood - and perhaps even God - in the same way. THE HUNT OF HER LIFE will take you on a captivating journey - a trip like no other - that will touch your heart.For more details and to order, go to theMySetterSam E-store

Also find The Hunt of Her Life on:Facebook/thehuntofherlifeAmazon.comCLICK HERE TO LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK

Story continues here When a human forbids a dog from taking food, dogs are four times more likely to disobey in a dark room than a lit room, suggesting they take into account what the human can or cannot see, the research showed.ďThe results of these tests suggest that dogs are deciding itís safer to steal the food when the room is dark because they understand something of the humanís perspective,Ē Ms. Kaminski states in a media release.

The research, published in the journal Animal Cognition, is the first study to examine if dogs differentiate between different levels of light when they are developing strategies on whether to steal food.

Ms. Kaminski ran experiments in varied light conditions. In each test, a dog was forbidden by a human from taking the food. When the room was dark, the dogs took more food and took it more quickly than when the room was lit. The tests involved many variables to rule out that dogs were basing their decisions on simple associative rules, for example, that dark means food. There is no evidence on how well dogs can see in the dark, but the results of this research show dogs can differentiate between light and dark. In total, 42 female and 42 male domestic dogs age 1 or older took part in the tests.

The research is an incremental step in our understanding the ability of dogs to think and understand. This information may help those who work with dogs, including police, vision-impaired people, those who use gun dogs and those who have dogs as pets.

More reports about dogs, behavior and safety:Dogs always mouth off before they biteDogs feel no guilt about misbehavingA place for dogs where fighting often eruptsHey dummy, your dog's smarter than you thinkThe secret to getting your dog to behave This injury risk to dogs just keeps booming Tips to help your pet cope during fireworks season

Reports about dogs, food and safetyToxic levels of chemical found in dog foods Chocolate, candies mean danger for dogs Many earlier research papers have found that dogs have the ability to interpret a humanís eyes as an important signal when deciding how to behave. They respond more willingly to attentive humans rather than inattentive ones.